Geithner says Spain bailout plan vital to eurozone

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Saturday that Spain's request for a bank rescue and Europe's willingness to prop up the country with as much as $125 billion in aid were welcome actions toward stemming the region's debt crisis.

There are fears that Europe's economic crisis could reach across the Atlantic and drag down the fragile U.S. economy, threatening President Barack Obama's hopes for a second term. On Friday, Obama used an impromptu news conference to prod European leaders to quickly and vigorously deal with their crisis.

Spain's bailout plan and the commitment by its European partners to provide support are "concrete steps on the path to financial union, which is vital to the resilience of the euro area," Geithner said in a statement.